Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

–William Ernest Henley

I saw Invictus last night. I’ve been anticipating the premier and with good reason. It was a phenomenal film. I’ve posted links before to things regarding Nelson Mandela that are just truly inspiring. This post is no different.

I can’t help but find parallels in the history of South Africa, president Mandela helping his nation overcome their predjudices, being so forgiving of the people who put him in jail for 30 years… and the United States currently.

I don’t understand how ANYONE who knows that history, or has seen that movie… can maintain their ignorance and predjudice. Let Nelson Mandela be your inspiration to let it go.

See this movie, because Morgan Freeman did an outstanding job portraying Mandela, and Clint Eastwood has delivered, yet again, a masterpiece which cannot be ignored.

I know, I know people, that I say this every time I see an inspiring film… but PLEASE open your eyes, your ears, your hearts… to the message contained within this film. You’ll be a better person for it. And if you’re not touched… if you still hold on to your racist thoughts and your ignorant ways… I urge you to see my most recent poem, Humanity, because you’re the reason I wrote it.

Africa, Here I Come

It just occurred to me that I have not posted this news!

I am traveling to Gambia, Africa in less than two months! I will be leaving January 3 and returning January 18.

I’m going to make a documentary about The Sajuka Elementary School as part of a non-profit effort to raise awareness and funds for the school.

I’m sure you’ll hear all about it when I’m back!

 

Why Everyone Should See 2012 (The Movie)

I saw the new film, 2012, last Saturday. It arrived in theaters the day before that. My friend and I waited in line for several minutes, only to find out that our showing had already been sold out.

We bought tickets in advance for the next showing (10pm). When we got in the theater, about 20 minutes before the PREVIEWS were about to begin, it was already packed. I can only assume that showing was sold out as well.

Regardless of whether or not you think the world is going to end in 2012, you should see this movie. EVERYONE should see this movie.

And no, not because the special effects are cool (even though they are).

You should see this movie because it truly makes you think. I won’t give away the story line (other than that the world ends and all), but it really makes you re-think any outstanding grudges you may have with people. It makes you realize that we have, as a whole, stopped being human beings and started acting like animals. We don’t care who we go to war with and who we kill, who we give special treatment to and who we leave to die.

It really made me think. It made me evaluate all my relationships and any fights I had recently. It made me think that I don’t want to wait until it’s too late… to tell someone I care, or that I’m sorry, or that I forgive them.

WATCH this movie. You’ll see what I mean.

It’s hard to write about it without giving it away. WATCH this movie and post your thoughts in the comments section. I’d love to read them.

Two previews for this movie are below! The first one is a longer one… the second one illustrates some of the points I made above.  And about 50 more previews for this film can be found on YouTube

This Is It

I went to see Michael Jackson’s This is It tonight. It was very well done given the circumstances under which it was created. Since it was never intended for public viewing, I’d say they did a fantastic job of putting it together FOR the public. It would have been a great tour.

I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about Michael Jackson and things he may or may not have done, but all those things aside, the man had a great message that a lot of people overlook. Man in the Mirror has ALWAYS been one of my favorite songs because it’s got a great message that most people forget about, and that’s sad.

I’m not sure how much longer the film is going to be in theaters, but I highly recommend you see it, regardless of how you feel about Michael Jackson. It’s an experience and if you take the time to pay attention to the message, you just might walk away a better person.

 

Half Blood Prince

***Possible Spoilers if you have yet to read the book/see the movie****

Yes, I saw it.

And I LOVED it. It was spectacular. I was most anticipating the scene in the cave when Harry and Dumbledore were retrieving the horcrux, and I was very pleased with how they chose to portray it.

I laughed, mostly at Rupert Grint’s humor… (that’s Ron if you don’t know) and when Harry drank his “liquid luck’.

I jumped when the corpses came out of the water during the cave scene.

I blinked away tears when Snape killed Dumbledore.

All the elements of a truly brilliant film.

Yes, they left out some very key elements, but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt since they’re splitting the 7th book into two movies.

If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Call me a loser, dork, whatever the Harry Potter equivalent to a Trekie is, I am going CRAZY just knowing that I haven’t seen the new HP movie yet. Literally, crazy. Like a junkie unable to get their fix. And I don’t want to supplement it by reading the book because that will only make the movie suck. I made that mistake with OOTP, I re-read it right before the film came out, and was terribly disappointed because they changed/left out SO much. Watching OOTP now, though, it is a wonderful film.. because the whole story is not fresh fresh fresh in my head.

Now understand this, I am absolutely not ashamed that I am a Harry Potter fan, especially since the books came out when I was very young. I know a lot of people try to pretend they’re not into that stuff now that they’re “grown up and mature,” but I say eff that. If you loved something when you were young, you’re still going to love it. Like all the Disney movies. The Lion King still makes me cry, and yes, I try to watch at least one Disney movie each year.

Regardless, I have decided that I am going to see the earliest showing of HP6 tomorrow morning, otherwise I just might go completely insane. The Kicker? I’m going by myself. Why I don’t care: well, I think you get that by this whole post.

Mon Dieu!

Happy to report that my super terrible luck is holding strong!

I had to put together a film, and then make 20 copies for a client. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

The film is a little less than 3 hours. The master copy took about 40 minutes to burn… not counting the amount of time it took to export. The DVD copying machine makes 3 copies at a time, and takes about 15 minutes per round… so, let’s say about 2 hours copy time total…. not too bad.

But guess what…. the DVD copier is dead. Shot. Kicked the bucket. Whatever you want to call it.

Sooo…instead, I had to use 3 iMacs and burn each DVD separately. (That’s about 20-30 minutes PER DVD) Talk about hours and hours and hours of extra work.

Welcome to my life.

BUT, it’s finally done. And maybe it will be a funny story some day… maybe.

Mind Blowing

I have been having a mind blowingly amazing day today.

The film premier was phenomenal. The whole event was just amazing.

I filmed the entire thing so there will be proof of just how amazing it actually was : ]

I’m really excited to learn how much money it raised (and believe me I’ll let you know when I find out!)

I’ll also post a link to the film as soon as I get it.

Other than that, I just solidified my course load, and pretty much ensured that I will indeed be graduating in 2010 instead of 2011. I’m pumped.

I’m supposed to be a teaching assistant in a Video Production class next semester if all goes according to plan. Excellent!

And if there are enough enrollments in the 2009 Film Matters summer program, I will be helping teach that too in August.

Ahh, mind blowingly amazing I tell you.

Plus I’ve been writing more lately. Not much worth sharing but still, I’m getting back into the swing of things.

My wife’s first surgery is today so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. <3

Smile. Life is good.

Famous

Okay, not ACTUALLY famous, but hey, it’s a start.

I was in the paper yesterday.

It’s not the first time, but it is the first time in a few years.

The article is about the research team  I joined earlier this year. The film we have been working on for the past few months is being shown at a fund raising breakfast tomorrow morning.

The picture (as seen below) is of me filming the girls writing their “Dear World” letters (the theme of the video), and Dr. J holding the clack board. It’s a good picture but I can’t help but laugh at it.

Click [Here] for the article